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S: Beth - our story person

BC: I used to wait for a sign, she said, before I did anything. Then one night I had a dream & an angel in black tights came to me & said, you can start any time now, & then I asked is this a sign? & the angel started laughing & I woke up. Now, I think the whole world is filled with signs, but if there's no laughter, I know they're not for me.

FC: Beth - our story person | October 2011

1: October 22, 1951 It was a day filled with the glow of ordinary things & we passed them quietly from hand to hand for a long time & someone said she had picked a perfect day to be born & I think all of us felt the same.

2: I think my life would be easier, she said, if I could just get my selves to agree on something.

4: There is no one who comes here that does not know this is a true map of the world, with you there in the center, making home for us all.

5: I don't really have any secrets, she told us once. I just forget a lot of stuff.

9: The first time her laughter unfurled its wings in the wind, we knew that the world would never be the same

10: I've always liked the time before dawn because there's no one around to remind me who I'm supposed to be, so it's easier to remember who I am

11: You may not remember the time you let me go first. Or the time you dropped back to tell me it wasn't that far to go. Or the time you waited at the crossroads for me to catch up. You may not remember any of those, but I do & this is what I have to say to you: today, no matter what it takes, we ride home together

12: What's that thing? I said. O, that's an oar, she said, in case we hit a calm stretch & we decide we need more excitement & also it's good for slapping sharks.

13: Likes to navigate by the stars even when just zipping over to the mall.

14: IIf you hold on to the handle, she said, it's easier to maintain the illusion of control. But it's more fun if you just let the wind carry you

15: Deciding everything is falling into place perfectly as long as you don't get too picky about what you mean by place. Or perfectly.

16: How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You! | We asked her why she never told us about the Ten Commandments & she said she wasn't ever that good with numbers so she loved everything as best she could & we remember thinking who needs all those rules anyway with a friend like her around.

19: You're the strangest person I ever met, she said & I said you too & we decided we'd know each other a long time.

20: They came to walk& plant their feet at the edge of the world & after awhile they forgot everything but the good & true things they would do someday.

22: These are little scraps of magic & when you paste them together you get a memory of something fine & strong, she said. Sometimes it takes till you're 60 to see it though.

24: We had gone far enough together to listen easily in the quiet spaces. | I was never good at hide & seek because I'd always make enough noise so my friends would be sure to find me. I don't have anyone to play those games with any more, but now & then I make enough noise just in case someone is still looking & hasn't found me yet.

25: These are loose-fitting bodies, so they are still comfortable after a long carbohydrate binge.

27: These are little packets of light & you need to plant them early in the year & remember to mark where they were because lots of times they look like weeds in the beginning & it's not until later that you see how beautiful they really are.

30: How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You! | Live well, laugh often, love much

31: Anyone can slay a dragon, he told me, but try waking up every morning & loving the world all over again. That's what takes a real hero.

33: Ready to ride as soon as she decides whether they want to go in the direction they're all facing or whether that'd be too easy.

34: My grandmother used to say life was so much easier when you were simple minded. It's taken me almost my whole life to understand what she meant.

36: "My favorite thing is the wind, she said, & my second favorite is chocolate but I just do that so I don't get too skinny & blow away | We have heard too much beauty to ever go back, she said & in that moment, we knew there was no way the children of our world would fail.

37: I don't know if I really believe in all the saints, she said, but I pray to them anyway. It makes every night feel more like a slumber party.

38: There are things you do because they feel right & they may make no sense & they may make no money & it may be the real reason we are here: to love each other & to eat each other's cooking & say it was good.

40: The first time her laughter unfurled its wings in the wind, we knew that the world would never be the same.

41: If I was a spider princess, she said, I would spin webs the color of sky & catch drops of sunlight to give to children who watch too much TV & then everyone would remember to come outside to play. If I was a spider princess, she said, things would be different.

42: The only thing that separates me from the animals is a lot of words, so when I'm not talking much, the gap closes really quick.

43: If I love you with all my heart, she said, what will you give me? & then she stopped & said I didn't have to answer that because she was going to do it anyway.